Greg Rucka’s first storyline on Wonder Woman ends in a very satisfying way — not just one massive battle scene, but several, hopefully satisfying those who have complained that Diana hasn’t thrown a punch since this story arc began. Her battle with the Silver Swan is brutal both on the reader and on Wonder Woman herself — for a woman who believes in peace above all else to be forced into battle with a woman she loves, a woman she still considers a sister, it’s heart-rending.

Meanwhile, the scenes on Mt. Olympus make for a very interesting counterpoint, as Ares’s machinations stir conflict between Hera and Zeus. Wonder Woman’s home of Paradise Island gets caught in the middle, however, and the changes wrought to that idyllic setting in this issue will not be quickly resolved.

If there’s any problem with the main story, it’s that the ending is very abrupt. I didn’t even realize the story was over until I turned the page and found myself looking at a golden age-style backup. Clearly, Rucka and the very talented Drew Johnson used this arc to set up what they hope will be a lengthy run, but how quickly it wrapped up took me aback.

This issue also has several back-up features spotlighting the many years of Wonder Woman’s history. Robert Rodi (of the defunct Codename: Knockout and The Crossovers and the current Elektra scribe) supplies an amusing tale in the style of a 1940s-era comic book in which Wonder Woman is forced into exile when a robotic duplicate of her begins committing crimes. Rodi’s script is pretty simple, but it is meant to parody a simple time for comics, and as such, it works. Rick Burchett’s artwork is spot-on — if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear this story was penciled 60 years ago.

The same goes, to a lesser extent, to the silver age backup story drawn by Ty Templeton — he captures the art style of the 60s and 70s very well. The story, by Nunzio DeFillips and Christina Weir involves Wonder Woman going to the moon to rescue then-boyfriend Steve Trevor, who got the distinction of being “the first man on the moon.”

The last back-up story, “Stoned,” doesn’t really spotlight any Wonder Woman era, but is a contemporary tale of Wonder Girl, babysitting, and telling her young charges the mythic story of Perseus (taking care to leave out some elements not suited for younger ears). Linda Medley’s artwork really stands out here, showing she’s got a lot more versatility than the art style she uses on her own Castle Waiting series usually expresses.

This is a pretty solid issue, and while the main story may be daunting for people who haven’t read the first five chapters, the back-up features make it a worthy addition to the collection of any Wonder Woman fan.